Icelandic and Russian presidents to meet at Arctic forum

Icelandic President ólafur Ragnar Grímsson is set to meet Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin later this week at the The Arctic – Territory of Dialogue forum, revealed Putin’s aide Yury Ushakov.

At the meeting, which will be the third International Arctic Forum, the two leaders intend to discuss key issues regarding cooperation between the countries, including business ties and trade, in addition to the two nations’ approaches to improving contacts in the region.

Looking ahead, next month sees the 70th anniversary of the creation of diplomatic relations between the countries, with both planning on holding events to mark the occasion.

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson will travel to St. Petersburg today to attend a ribbon-cutting event for Icelandic artist Jóhannes Kjarval’s exhibition, which will be held at the State Russian Museum.

In return, Iceland will host a Russian film week, put on an exhibition of Russian books featuring translations of Icelandic sagas and host a concert by Russian chamber orchestra Virtuosos of Moscow, which will be conducted by Vladimir Spivakov.